why should I get a macbook pro?

[breaktwister]

OK dudes, I've never owed a mac. I have a PC based studio and have always been PC based cos I could build them up myself.

Now however, I am going to need a portable solution so that I can play live with Ableton.

The question is why should I go for a macbook which are starting at around 700 on ebay when I can get a comparable laptop for 250?

Is stability that much of an issue?

[arafel]

It sounds like you are well versed in the inner workings of a PC & Windowz. Great!

So...Stability (virus, component comptibility, 3rd party plugins, etc) is not going to be a problem - IF, and this is the big IF, you actually know what you are doing, know what components work together nicely, and know how to optimize windowz.

Forgive my using a * instead of a quotation mark - my G4 laptop has a dead key (hey - its 8 years old). Sry.

IMHO - Troubleshooting is the same on both platforms - there will be problems either way - check the *Leopard compatibility thread* to see how some things work great, others do not yet, as any new macbook will prob be shipping with Snow Leapard.
If your not good at Troubleshooting on a PC, you will have similar issues on a Mac. Notice all the new posts from new mac owners about *how to do this ...*, or *blank* plugin wont work on my new mac, etc, etc.

Ive had an Apple computer my whole life(thx Dad -except for those few Amiga years), and Ive given up on being tech-support for some relatives and friends. No matter how easy & simple Mac makes things.. someone will always find a way to Fak up a simple procedure. Pressing 2 buttons - like #1 Then pressing #2 is really too hard for some people. Fak Em. Learn or die. *Rant over.

Good Luck,

but overall a Mac is not necessary for stability.. its just easier (usually).
PS - Do check and double-check plug-in cross-compatibilty.

[anachroschism]

Dont.

Like previous said, if you know what youre doing which it sounds like you do, then a PC is the best way to go. Macs are fine and all, but there famous stability and reliablity is only due to the fact that the OS is simplified for moms to use and you have no choice on hardware, 1 size fits all, which is a good thing for eliminating conflicts and driver issues.

the price is just fuggin ridiculous, going apple is like buying 500 dollar Prada jeans when what your really after is a good pair of dickies cargo pants. Function first, and for non computer savvy's that usually means apple, doesnt make it the best choice though.

Im running a dell studio XPS 13 in. laptop as my live rig and loving it so far, its older so specs arent the best 2.2 ghz dual core 3gb ram 500gig 7200 hdd, but i got it for 500 and it mops the floor with comparable macbooks.

[kingb]

I switched to mac about 6 mos ago. Been pc for 12 years up to that. What happened to me was that I looked at my desk and had 6 computers running different flavors of windows (I do a fair amount of troubleshooting web design on different browsers / OS's). Got a macbookpro and parallels and run everything off of one machine. From 5 comps to 1 - besides my overall carbon footprint, I probably save $30/mo off my electric bill.

Yeah there's always hiccups on both platforms. But I really like not having to think about different hardware, video cards, drivers, compatibility, etc... For me I've made a bunch more in this last 6 mos vs the previous - which was mostly spent making sure my rig is "optimized".

[aeon_flux]

apple is premium product (prices drops though over a years so it becomes more affordable) and price difference do not shows how much is better (or worse). but it is different for sure - solves some issues, brings new issues.

why i switched after 15 years? reasons in order of importance:
- got bigger salary
- i was looking for nice OS GUI / consistent application look for years
- i have a liking fot unix systems so apple is seducing me since releasing first mac os x
- i prefer stability to application variety

like you see there are no key reasons.

question is what will give you more fun? spending price difference on additional gadget (hardware, software) or spending whole sum to one.

[Machinesworking]

I've always thought that if I was running just Live, that a desktop PC and a mac laptop is the way to go. No plug in or better compatibility issue stands in your way then.

If Windows pisses you off sometimes then maybe OSX will make you happy, but if you don't mind Windows then learning the quirks of another OS will piss you off.

[zalo]

i know the second i say this people are going to start throwing links up but

its a lot harder to find a PC laptop with 6 pin firewire than a Mac one

i am very much like you, in the sense that i have been building my own desktops for years,

i bought an early 2008 MBP and when my desktop crashed, i never fixed it

i just liked the feel of OS X better than windows, there was a learning curve but afterward i was very happy

about a month ago i decided i wanted a desktop again, i bought an iMac, i just find it difficult to go back

well thats my story

[hyena]

i know the second i say this people are going to start throwing links up but

its a lot harder to find a PC laptop with 6 pin firewire than a Mac one

agree 100%
also:
i switched to a macbook (not pro) after years of windows.
before that i bought an hp something laptop , with 4 pins firewire and a moutu ultralite. havin to plug the ultra to a PSU wasn't much of an issue BUT: the firewire chipset on the hp was totally incompatible with the motu. so i sold it and bought a macbook just to avoid troubles.
so if you'll look for a pc laptop TRIPLE CHECK compatibility if you want to use a firewire audio interface! some chipsets are really fkked up!
said that, here my apple pros cons list
PRO
forget antivirus, antimalware and stuff
clean OS, clean navigation thru files, clean overall organization
access to up to 4gb ram even on 32 bit systems
better internal components
less electricity problems (noises\interferences when pluggin the power adaptor)
clean os update system
CONS
less performance on very similar processor\ram\hd configurations
price
less OS tweaks
repairs a bit pricy after warranty is over
i cant run jeskola buzz (my fave tracker )

[jmdumas]

Macs are fine and all, but there famous stability and reliablity is only due to the fact that the OS is simplified for moms to use

Dude, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. The beauty of MacOS is that yes, your mom can use it but under the hood is unix which is, for powerusers, WAY more powerful than windows.

Get your facts right before posting such random bashing!

jm

[fireballgames]

My 2 cents:
I'm a sysadmin at work, I have a pretty in-depth knowledge of windows (although I'm a unix sys) and had a win laptop for years.
I read dozens of optimizing manuals and knew every trick in the book.
two years ago I switched to a mac book and never want a pc system again (especially vista)
I am a windows power user (I've actually even written a driver once) and a Unix power user.
I find that I've never had to be a power user on the mac
it just fucking works
I know people will argue till sunrise on how pc's are even better blah blah blah
I don't care
I have a MacBook and will keep having one till kingdom come

That being said , like everything in the world , there are trade offs and once in a while i'll say "gee on windows it works like this which is better than a mac"
it's not perfect
just easier

get a mac
http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple ... 80x376.mov

[anachroschism]

Macs are fine and all, but there famous stability and reliablity is only due to the fact that the OS is simplified for moms to use

Dude, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. The beauty of MacOS is that yes, your mom can use it but under the hood is unix which is, for powerusers, WAY more powerful than windows.

Get your facts right before posting such random bashing!

jm

its a mac vs pc thread. come on.

the one thing i do like about apple is how easy it is to get their fanboys panties in a twist

[jmdumas]

Macs are fine and all, but there famous stability and reliablity is only due to the fact that the OS is simplified for moms to use

Dude, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. The beauty of MacOS is that yes, your mom can use it but under the hood is unix which is, for powerusers, WAY more powerful than windows.

Get your facts right before posting such random bashing!

jm

its a mac vs pc thread. come on.

the one thing i do like about apple is how easy it is to get their fanboys panties in a twist

I don't consider myself an apple fanboy (i use Ubuntu half of the time..), but your statement was too misinformed to pass up on.

That being said, i find it very weird people are actually still using windows. It is a poorly written OS (.dll anyone?) with it's own crazy conventions for handling files and folders. Most (all?) other OSes use Unix which, to me, just makes more sense.

I'm not saying the OP should get a mac, just saying he shouldn't get windows that's all.

jm

[slaykent]

I got my Macbook Pro two months after they first appeared. It's running Ableton Suite 8 and it still flies. My friend bought a Studio XPS from Dell recently, and the problems he has with drivers and file structure boggles my mind. Even plugging in a midi keyboard seems to get complicated. Who knows, maybe windows 7 will fix some issues, but why gamble?

[carlosjhzapien]

I know it's all said and done on this, but I couldn't resist adding my Mac vote.

I've been on Windows for 15 years or so, I always thought Macs were for wimps and non-tech people, people that couldn't be smart enough to make things work with Windows (or something like that my line went, especially in University, so funny how I used to use this as a pick-up line). I've worked with Unix and Linux and programmed in everything from Assembler to Java, J2EE, C, C++, etc etc... Designed electronic systems, networks, scientific and engineering apps, etc,etc... but it turns out I'm also a musician.

This year building our new band studio I came to think about Pro Tools, which is pretty much designed to REALLY work on the Mac. So I got a Mac Pro with tons of ram and hard disks and stuff, I was SO impressed by it that 3 days later, I went back to the store and bought a Macbook Pro to replace my 1 year old Laptop which I use with Bome, Midi routing, tons of devices and custom python programming for my pedals, synths, etc which I use in live performances with Ableton Live (we are a band of two making the noise of 6).

All I can say is: I'm never going back to Windows. The mac simply WORKS, the OS is beautiful, easy to use and it's ROCK SOLID. Forget all those 3rd party apps you need in Windows for Midi routing, the Mac has it incorporated in the OS.

I'm so in love with the Mac that now I look back in time and think "what the hell was I trying to prove?" Now I use my time to write MUSIC and prepare my arrangements instead of trying to figure out why this or that thing doesn't work and how I need to tweak Windows to make it work.

My two cents...

[aeon_flux]

I find that I've never had to be a power user on the mac

i almost wrote it in my previous message.